WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from October 24

The penultimate stop on the road to Hell in a Cell featured a molten-hot angle to close the show, an excellent wrestling match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the shining of the spotlight on some of the midcard feuds that will culminate Sunday night when the annual October extravaganza hits the WWE Network airwaves. 

Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro and Nikki Bella were among the Superstars and Divas to make impressions just days away from the huge pay-per-view, but who earned "winner" and "loser" status? Who is riding into Dallas for this weekend's event on a wave of momentum and who is limping in?

Let's take a look.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

After an awful in-ring promo on Monday, a promo that was poorly conceived and highly contrived, Ambrose rebounded nicely Friday night with a much more focused and sensical bit of mic work just days away from the most important match of his young career.

As Kenny Herzog of Rolling Stone wrote Friday, "Dean Ambrose is the WWE's unlikely anti-hero." As such, WWE Creative must walk the fine line that exists between being the unstable, unpredictable anti-hero and a cartoon character. Monday night, he found himself on the wrong side of that line. Friday night, he was exactly what he needs to be to succeed at the top of the company.

Separating himself from the legendary Mick Foley because "deep down, Mick was a good guy," Ambrose essentially told fans that he does not have the same moral compass that Foley does and come Sunday's match with Seth Rollins, it does not bode well for Mr. Money in the Bank.

His promo work was truly outstanding and highly effective. Speaking of effective, his assault of Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, putting both stooges through tables, popped the crowd and left fans with a vivid image to close out the show.

Losers: Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro

It is so incredibly disheartening to see two guys as great as Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro are work so hard and get so little in return from WWE Creative and management. Friday night, they turned in another excellent performance, setting up a 2-out-of-3 Falls match at Hell in a Cell, but it hardly matters.

After all, it is fairly apparent at this point that neither will benefit from the string of tremendous in-ring performances they have put together over the last two or three years.

Ziggler and Cesaro have been as consistently great as any other Superstar on the roster, yet their hard work and dedication to their craft has done nothing to elevate them up the card. In fact, it has left them in the heart of the same muddled midcard mess they have been stuck in for years. How they can possibly escape the quicksand that is that portion of the card is anyone's guess.

For now, fans can continue to admire them for their strong ring work and willingness to let it all hang out (as this writer will), even if those in power refuse to acknowledge their awesome output with anything resembling a true push.

Winner: Nikki Bella

Sunday, Nikki Bella will meet sister Brie in a match where the loser must be the winner's personal assistant for 30 days or risk banishment from WWE. It is a tried and true stipulation, one that has led to some great angles in generations past and one that could make for some entertaining television in the coming weeks.

As the condescending, egotistical heel, it was up to Nikki to really hammer home the torment and humiliation that awaits Brie if she comes out on the losing end on Sunday night. She did just that, promising to be the evil stepsister to Brie's "dirty little Cinder-Bella."

Nikki has been a very effective heel to this point, one that can carry a rivalry on her own, thanks to her easily unlikable personality. It is that personality and Nikki's performance to this point that makes her a valuable heel and could set her up for a Divas Championship feud when her issues with Brie are finally settled.

Loser: Mark Henry

Remember when Mark Henry was America's hero just a month ago? How he cried when "The Star-Spangled Banner" played and how impassioned his performances were?

He just lost to Bo Dallas for the fourth straight time.

Let that sink in.